Sleepin' with Sea Turtles...Spark Student Motivation...

I'm pretty certain that Saturday is my 

FAVORITE

day of the week.  

Can I get an "Amen"?

I'm linkin' up with one of my BBB's, Joanne,

from Head Over Heels for Teaching 

for Spark Student Motivation Saturday.

I'm just goin' to go ahead and admit...

I was NOT happy when my team suggested 

we go on a 5th grade field trip to Sea World in Orlando, Fl.

My complaints...because y'all KNOW I was complainin'...
Not only was I thinkin' these...I was definitely
sayin' them out loud bein' VERY vocal...

1.  What???

That's SIX hours away...I get car sick...which then 

translates into...I'm goin' to barf on the bus.

I am NOT cleanin' up barf...on a movin' bus.

This is why I don't have children.
No...I'm not goin'...you can't make me.

2. AND...there are NO showers??  I don't like to be dirty.
This is not natural.

I shower at least two to three times a day...EVERY day.

I'm not a germaphobe, but I like to be CLEAN.
You have smelled the 5th graders after P.E.?
Yes?
You want them to go the ENTIRE time without
a shower TOO?

Eww...GROSS!

3.  Furthermore, you want me to sleep AT Sea World?
 In a habitat? With creatures?

In my pajamas?

I will have nightmares every day for the rest of my

life about sharks if you make me sleep with sharks.

I DON'T do sharks.

4. Seriously?
Are you INSANE?
You want me to be at school

at 1:30 in the A.M...in the DARK, to get on the bus

after teachin' ALL day?

Y'all have seriously done lost your minds!

5. Do they have plugs for air mattresses and devices?
I am not sleepin' on the floor.
Who is goin' to pack me a sleepin' bag?
I don't camp...or glamp...or anything of this nature.
What happens when my cell phone dies?
What if there is an emergency?
How will parents get ahold of me?

There were some positive thoughts....some...

1. Kids are goin' to WANT to go on this trip.

It's goin' to spark some student motivation 

to make them earn this trip.
I'll get to hang it over their heads to behave...

every.second.of.every day...like whoa!

Me likey this idea!

2. We are goin' to miss a WHOLE day of school?
I don't have to write lesson plans?

I like school and all, but I like a "Get out of Jail FREE" 

card every once in awhile in this real-life game of Monopoly.
Okay...I'll think about it.

3. We get to sleep with sea turtles who are calm and relaxin'
instead of the sharks?  Sign me up.

I can totally get down with sea turtles.

No blood curdlin' screams will be escapin' from me.

4. All the kids will have to sleep from 2 a.m. until sunrise
on the bus without bein' able to use devices?
YES!
Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Y'all know I wasn't goin' to let my team
and kiddos go without me...right?

I kicked and screamed just about every minute
before we left on that trip.
I let my teammates that planned it know that
I was NOT happy with their
choice of not sleepin' at a hotel...
on a BED...a soft and comfortable bed.
I even shot laser outs of my eyes when they were
textin' my administrators pictures of "Oscar the Grouch"
on the bus, just before sunrise, after she did not sleep
as promised and didn't have any caffeine in her bloodstream.
There WILL be payback!

When all was said and done though,
the field trip was a HUGE success with 96 happy travelers.
The parents were extremely helpful and complimentary.
All the kids were well-behaved and had an
AMAZIN' time.

Would I spend the night in Sea World again?
That's still up for debate.
There was a lot of walkin' and draggin' our
bags back and forth.  The kids were a little too tired
to enjoy it after bein' up all night the night before.
(No, they did not sleep like we thought they would
on the bus.  Surprise, surprise!)
Next time...if there is a next time,
I think we should stay in a hotel the night before,
enjoy the park the followin' day and THEN
spend the night in there.

Check out the craziness.
Warnin'...lots of pictures ahead.

The Sea Lion and Sea Otter show.

Some of my girls were textin' me selfies...or groupies....so I returned the favor.

The best photo of the day.

Winnin' Brainy Smurf was absolutely fittin' for my Nerd Herd.

More groupies.

I don't know which impressed me more at the dolphin show...
the dolphins or the aerial acrobatics.  Best show of the day!

We did a craft, ate some pizza and licked some Shamu ice cream before
headin' off on our night tour.

My kids pretty much called me a wimp because I didn't want

to touch any livin' creatures.

I wasn't goin' down like that in front of a bunch of 5th graders, so

I stuck my hand in that tank to pet a shark...I know...

I'm NUTS! 

One of my sweet parents held my hand to to be sure I wouldn't

pass out from this.

Tourin' the shark habitat...at night.

Obviously they aren't fraidy cats like their teacher.

Whatevs.

After draggin' our stuff about five miles to the bathroom
to change for the night (okay, I exaggerate a little)
and kiddos losin' underwear on the way back even though the tour
guide warned them to wrap them up tight....and every 5th grader
used a wet washcloth WITH soap to get off the dirt and germs...
it was FINALLY sleepy time in the sea turtle habitat.
This was super awesome.
I only woke up one time at 2:30 a.m. when one of my kids was
sittin' straight up...asleep.
Lol!
I don't think the tour guide was too excited to see
my face when I was beggin' her to let me use the
SECRET bathroom.

The mornin' after our sleepover...the turtle was sayin' goodbye to us.

Checkin' out the dolphin grotto before breakfast.

Our final roam around the park before it opened for the day
and we headed back home.

These two lil' stalkers refused to let me sleep on the bus ride back.

They pretty much stared at me through the cracks of the seat

the WHOLE way home!  

I finally gave up and took a billion pics with them.

Smiles all around for an eventful trip.

36 hours later....I was so excited to take a hot shower

and hop in my Big Comfy(that's her name) bed.  

I didn't emerge from my cocoon for FIFTEEN hours.

I didn't feel guilty for sleepin' that long at all.

Joanne, don't be mad at me that I didn't text you while I was there.

I was conservin' my phone battery for fear I would never

see an electrical outlet while I was gone.

One finally appeared at 11:00 at night.

I was able to sleep well though knowin' you might hear me yell

if a sea turtle got me in my sleep.

This week we went on another adventure to

our local waterpark.

This is a tradition for all 3rd through 5th graders...

for a celebration after our state testin'.

This trip is another fabulous way for the upper grades

to spark some student motivation at our school before summer break.

I'm sure you aren't surprised to learn I took another very long nap 

after this adventure also!

Happy Saturday, friends!